Shill Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My wifes parents have a desktop PC that is running pretty slow at the moment. I installed a scanner called SpeedMAXPC (www.speedmaxpc.com) I ran the scan and it found quite a lot of system problems and registry issues. No viruses or malware. The software is asking for $30 to fix the problems. I have said that I will try and find a free program to do the same job. Does anyone have any recommendations ? Would also like to mention that I ran a defrag on the hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 You didn't say much about the actual PC and what runs slow. You may think that you don't have virusues, trojans etc. but are you really sure? Are you using W7 by any chance - if so let the Windows software look at the system. Is the disk filling up? Is the dik head moving around all the time? Info, info, info please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Sorry, I have ran a full virus check, I couldnt find anything. Same with malware. I installed AVG and AD-Aware when they first got the PC. I dont see any issues with regard that side of things. They have 1 hard drive, it is 33% full. The operating system is Win XP Home. Some of the issues are things like when I open a web browser it takes ages to load. Programs take ages to respond. In terms of CPU usage I cant see any programs hogging it when I go into task manager. I can only assume it may be a memory issue. If I was a betting man it sounds like there are quite a few unwanted processes hogging the memory. Either that or there is an issue with the hard drive. OK, you are being a bit mean with the information though How much memory? How much is shown as being available? Screenshot from the task manager showing this information maybe? What's the CPU chip? You see this via the Control Panel / System. Please give the hounds a scent of the rabbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shill Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Sorry, I have ran a full virus check, I couldnt find anything. Same with malware. I installed AVG and AD-Aware when they first got the PC. I dont see any issues with regard that side of things. They have 1 hard drive, it is 33% full. The operating system is Win XP Home. Some of the issues are things like when I open a web browser it takes ages to load. Programs take ages to respond. In terms of CPU usage I cant see any programs hogging it when I go into task manager. I can only assume it may be a memory issue. If I was a betting man it sounds like there are quite a few unwanted processes hogging the memory. Either that or there is an issue with the hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My wifes parents have a desktop PC that is running pretty slow at the moment. I installed a scanner called SpeedMAXPC (www.speedmaxpc.com) I ran the scan and it found quite a lot of system problems and registry issues. No viruses or malware. The software is asking for $30 to fix the problems. I have said that I will try and find a free program to do the same job. Does anyone have any recommendations ? Would also like to mention that I ran a defrag on the hard drive. Have you considered the old format/reinstall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shill Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 I will go up there this week and do some screen dumps, I dont have the PC in front of me so can't remember the spec. Will look at dxdiag and give you the information. To be fair I was only asking for recommendations on free software that might help speed their computer up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shill Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Slim, it would be easiest, but I dont really have the time to back up all the emails, configs etc. They run a small business so have all their accounts on there as well. I just thought sorting out some unwanted processes and fixing some registry stuff might help a little. It's usable, just running slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itmanx Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi Shill, I would recommend using this: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner You can clean out your temporary files, fix your registry (remember to take a backup when it asks) and remove unwanted items from your start-up all for free. Once you have run that, use this tool: http://www.auslogics...efrag-setup.exe This is a free disk defragmenter that does a better job than the stock Windows one and is also free. If you are still having issues, right click on your desktop and select task manager then click on the performance tab. Make sure that your system is not using more RAM than it has installed. If it is, click on the processes tab to try and identify what is using the memory, or consider installing more RAM. Also check to see if your CPU is running at high levels constantly, and again check the processes tab to identify the cause of the problem. Another common issue is having two anti-virus programs installed. Make sure you only have one installed, otherwise they will fight over resources and really slow things down. If you would like us to take a look at it for you remotely, we would be more than happy to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I often run this registry cleaner when mine get sluggish, clears out a lot of junk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shill Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Many thanks guys, will have a go at what you have suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheels Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Run msconfig to see what is actually going on in the background Is the avg running all the time as that might slow things up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxawol Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 your obviously concerned about loosing the data etc that is on the computer if something happens to it. just a thought as it doesn't seem to have been mentioned, about backing up the computer. i went to Waltons and bought an external hard drive 1TB storage for £80/£90 the one below is the one that i bought, it's very simple and easy to use. http://www.waltons.com/computing/external-hard-drives/hit-0s02672/product plug it in to the mains, usb cable to the computer and you go make the tea. the first time takes a little while because it does the whole hard drive. after that it's only a couple of minutes to save what ever has been changed. it stores each computers hard disk as a seperate file and it's just as easy to restore everything back to the original computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOMRS97 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Plenty of free stuff to sort out the dead wood. Try Ccleaner or Advanced System Care. FileHippo for updating installed software. AML Free Registry Cleaner - all FREE! Helps to have all the latest drivers for everything you have installed too. It would be useful to post specs though, just in case hardware is not up to the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YodaYessir Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I've always found the free version of Glary Utilities http://www.glarysoft.com/ handy enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My two penneth. All of these utilities and 'fixers' tend to be no substitute for adequate memory and a healthy, reasonable spec hard disk. Usually it's a lack of RAM, then the PC will frantically swap chunks of memory in and out of the hard disk, and because that's a slow mechanical process, slows your PC down. I'd also look at the Event log (Start Menu, Run, and type 'eventvwr') - look under System and see if you can see any 'Disk' events - could be that your hard disk is on its way out. Might alternatively give you some other clues as to why you're struggling too. Finally, if there's plenty of RAM, it could still be malware, some of which is capable of hiding its presence to antivirus scanners. I'd maybe look at how busy the Internet connection is, see if it all goes quiet on your PC when disconnected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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